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For a long time, the waitlist for some of the highly desirable Rolex timepieces was so long that they were deemed unobtanium for most buyers.

The craze for the exclusive brand was compounded by the severe shortage of inventory caused by the COVID-19 lockdowns. It basically became nearly impossible to obtain a popular luxury watch model through authorised dealers.

But this hype is slowing down, which means the waiting period for popular timepieces is becoming less extreme.

In a forum discussion at Dubai Watch Week, the shortening of Rolex’s waiting list was confirmed by Mohammed Seddiqi, chief commercial officer at Seddiqi Holding, a company that owns and runs the world’s largest Rolex showroom, noted Luxury Launches.

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Seddiqi said that although the ‘wish lists’ are shrinking, the waiting lists are still very long for the hottest Rolex watches:

“For certain references that might have had 10,000 people waiting, we now have 8,000,” he claimed.

Waiting lists have always been a preferred marketing tool for luxury watch brands as they signal exclusivity to prospective buyers. Watchmakers use this tool while also controlling the production of some of its most popular models to artificially create scarcity in the market.

However, what is happening with Rolex right now shows that it is becoming increasingly difficult to maintain the same level of hype around its unicorn watches.

Plus the plummeting prices of pre-owned pieces are also contributing to the drop in demand. Take for example the Rolex Daytonas, a favourite amongst watch collectors, which is now among the worst affected by the global recession in luxury watches, according to the Bloomberg Subdial Watch Index. The Rolex Daytona reference 116519 was the most adversely hit in the month of October, with an average price fall of 6.1%.

Image: Chrono24

The very popular Rolex model’s price has dropped to an average price of $28,703 in the secondary market, with the price going down 17% in the last year.

While this may be terrible news for those who invested in Rolex timepieces after the pandemic in hopes of making a quick buck, it’s good news for those who have been unable to buy their favourite watch because of the long waiting lists.

[source:luxurylaunches]